Friday I ventured out to the movies to see the remake of the Japanese film, Oldboy. I was fairly certain it would be a poor remake as most American remakes are, but I should have kept faith in Spike Lee’s ability to make a fantastic movie. I felt there were some aspects that of the original better than the remake, but not enough to make this a movie to miss.
Yes, there is some loss in translation issues. There aren’t as many subtle hints as the original, and this is clearly an American film with the abundance of gore. Lee goes all out on some of the torture scenes and I do not recommend for anyone with a weak stomach.
Lee takes his time to really build this story and like the original, at times, the movie moves slowly through its paces until the end when the world comes crashing down. Despite the extra gore, and not much differing from the original the result is still as shocking when you see it as it was in the original.
There is always tough competition and criticism when a great movie is remade. When taken in comparison to the original, it does fall short, but it’s very hard to improve upon an already great movie. However, if taken on its own, forgetting the connections and what wasn’t exactly the same, it is a good movie. Not great, but good.
Have you seen this? Let us know in the comments what you thought.